Hail Sirius!
When I was a child during the dog days of summer, we were
outside, swimming, riding bikes, playing
games, and getting in the most we could before school started. My children were
of a generation that they had much less freedom, even in our neighborhood, to
do the simple things of summer. For many children to have those lazy unplanned
unscheduled days, often a parent has to schedule vacation time.
As I think about our children, my
mind turns to text, tweet, constant
communication, and
an ever enlarging world of information and stimuli.
Simultaneously, I both love and worry
about Social Media. Our children are inside sitting and doing whatever social
media they have-at least-some children are doing this. The connection is such a
different one. In my family, my mother now has an iPad so she can see pictures
of her grandchildren and great grandchildren. Face Time is cool too for
families that live farther apart and for folks who can't get out. Still, social
media is complicated and seems to complicate our personal relationships and our
ability to connect. Our likes and dislikes are public and our ability to hurt
is magnified
It may be that each new generation
of parents has their own challenge to meet with their children but it does seem
that Social Media creates another parenting job that seems easy until you see
the truly complicated and often disturbing choices presented to our children,
including to our grown children. Loving our children is not enough; we have
to be the first filter and hope we can
handle an area our kids know more about than we do.
In early summer, I was in Arkansas
where my father was grew up. My sisters and I took Dad's ashes to the White
River where he spent so much of his youth. His friend and our dear friend was
there to tell us about a different time to be young. He said that it was
"the best time to be young". It was a safe time. 'We were never
bored; we were never tired; we always had something to do'. Dad and his friend
spent summers working on 'the farm', cleaning out slues, fishing, and swimming
in cool, smooth bottomed swimming holes. They were small town boys with more to
do than time allowed.
As families grow, the big steps we
take with our children are not anything we are necessarily prepared for and I
suppose if we weren't challenged, it wouldn't really be parenting. So many times I had hoped to have a lesser
challenge and an easier time for a child.
Still, this time of year and the glorious Upstate summers seem to turn a switch that leads me
by the upturned face outside even on our warmest days to recall the summers of
the Dog Days and look forward to the future.
mba
For more interesting facts about
Sirius, the dog star, see the these links:
- According to the 1552 edition of the The Book of Common Prayer, the "Dog Daies" begin J
uly 6th and end August 17th. But this edition, the
2nd book of Edward VI, was never used
extensively nor adopted by the Convocation of the
Church of England. The lectionary of
1559 edition of the Book of Common Prayer indicates:
"Naonae. Dog days begin"
the readings for September 5th indicate:
"Naonae. Dog days end". This corresponds very
closely to the lectionary of the 1611 edition of the
King James Bible (also called the Authorized
version of the Bible) which indicates the Dog Days
beginning on July 6th and endin
on September 5th. A recent reprint of the 1662 edition of the Book of Common Prayer
on September 5th. A recent reprint of the 1662 edition of the Book of Common Prayer
contains no reference to the Dog Days."
- Reviews of media for kids:
